India’s exports fell for the eighth month in a row in May, this time by 29.2 per cent, due to global downturn, while imports dropped by 39.2 per cent, reflecting slowdown in domestic consumption.Imports dipped to $16.21 billion in May from $26.68 billion over the year-ago period. Imports during the first two months of the current fiscal were $31.95 billion against $51.50 billion.     

The trade deficit during April-May 2009-10 was $10.20 billion against $19.88 billion.     

Oil imports during May 2009 plunged by 60.6 per cent to $4.13 billion from $10.49 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. Non-oil imports during the month declined by 25.4 per cent to $12.07 billion from $16.18 billion. During April-May 2009-10, oil and non-oil imports dipped to $7.76 billion and $24.19 billion, respectively, compared to the same period in the previous year.     

Oil and non-oil imports in April-May 2008-09 were $19.24 billion and $32.26 billion respectively.   

As the country’s total imports, largely influenced by a whopping decline of 60.6 per cent in oil imports, showed a faster pace of contraction than exports, the trade deficit more than halved to $5.20 billion in May 2009-10 from $11.13 billion in the same month last fiscal.     

Exports dropped to $11.01 billion in May from $15.55 billion in the same month last year, according to the government data released today. Exports during the April-May period dipped by 31.2 percent to $21.75 billion from the cumulative shipments of $31.62 billion in the first two months of the previous fiscal.